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Political Scientists

Life, Physical, and Social Science · SOC 19-3094

45.2% AI Exposure — Very High
$142,080
Median Annual Salary
Average
O*NET Outlook
800
Proj. Annual Openings
5,540
Employment (OEWS 2025)
-1.3%/yr
Empl. growth (2019–2025)
55/100
AI Resiliency Score

AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.

Decision card

Career Evidence Passport

SOC 19-3094 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.

Proxy / seed data labeledDescriptive-only
SOC exposure
45.2%
Very High · Anthropic AEI
Automation friction
53/100
Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
Wages
$142,080
H-1B offered wage $90,000; LCAs are filings.
Projected openings
800
BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change -3.1%.
Observed/proxy demand
97
FY2025 certified LCAs; 1,307 postings in 2025.

Skill evidence

Reading ComprehensionActive ListeningSpeakingActive LearningWriting
  • H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
  • Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
  • Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
  • This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.

Best transitions from here

Explore all pathways

Lower AI-exposure roles that reuse your skills, ranked by a transition score (skills that transfer, safety gain, pay and retraining effort).

AI Exposure Analysis

AI Exposure45.2%
AI Resiliency55/100
Exposure BandVery High
Sector Avg. Exposure9.7%

Across AI measures

Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.

63.5%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic45.2%
AI capability · OpenAI47.9%
AI ability · AIOE97.4%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne3.9%

Top Skills

1.Reading Comprehension
2.Active Listening
3.Speaking
4.Active Learning
5.Writing

H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand

View full H-1B trends →

Certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications naming this occupation, FY2016–FY2025. A descriptive high-skill labor-demand signal — employer filings, not visa approvals or individual outcomes. Note: one LCA can cover multiple worker positions.

635
Decade Total (Certified LCAs)
97
FY2025 Volume
0% of all H-1B filings in FY2025
$90,000
Median Offered Wage (Latest Year)
#212 of 776
Rank by Total Volume
H-1B filing volume, FY2016–FY2025

O*NET occupation profile

What this work involves

Study the origin, development, and operation of political systems. May study topics, such as public opinion, political decisionmaking, and ideology. May analyze the structure and operation of governments, as well as various political entities. May conduct public opinion surveys, analyze election results, or analyze public documents.

Representative Tasks

  • Teach political science.
  • Maintain current knowledge of government policy decisions.
  • Develop and test theories, using information from interviews, newspapers, periodicals, case law, historical papers, polls, or statistical sources.
  • Disseminate research results through academic publications, written reports, or public presentations.
  • Advise political science students.

Detailed Work Activities

  • Instruct college students in social sciences or humanities disciplines.
  • Develop theories or models of physical phenomena.
  • Review professional literature to maintain professional knowledge.
  • Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.
  • Advise others on educational matters.

Tools & Technologies

Microsoft Outlook · hotMicrosoft PowerPoint · hotIBM SPSS Statistics · hotMicrosoft Access · hotSAS · hotCQ Press Political Reference SuiteEBSCO Publishing Political Science CompleteEmail softwareJSTOR databaseJudgeIt II

Employment Projections & AI Exposure

15
Occupations Shown
12.1%
Avg AI Exposure
8
Bright Outlook
Horizontal bar chart showing occupations with the highest projected annual openings. Each bar length represents annual projected openings. Color uses a gradient from violet (lower) to cyan (higher). Summary statistics are shown above the chart.

Employment & Wage Trend

BLS OEWS, 2019–2025


Occupation Employment & Wage TrendMulti-year BLS OEWS history for SOC 19-3094: 2019 — employment: 6,010, median wage: $122,220; 2020 — employment: 6,010, median wage: $125,350; 2021 — employment: 5,650, median wage: $122,510; 2022 — employment: 5,660, median wage: $128,020; 2023 — employment: 5,580, median wage: $132,350; 2025 — employment: 5,540, median wage: $142,080.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.

Sector Comparison

MetricThis CareerSector Average
AI Exposure45.2%9.7%
OutlookAverage37% Bright
Median Salary$142,080N/A
AI Resiliency55/100N/A